Stray cat

Hi I'm new here and hope I am doing this correctly. I have a stray cat that I have been feeding for a couple of months. We have lived here for 9 years and I have watched Animal Control try to catch this cat ever since I have been here. I thought he was an outdoor cat that lived across the street. Anyway after putting food out for him for a few weeks he now hangs out on my porch most of the day. About 2 weeks ago he let me put his head when I put his food down. A couple of days after that he lifted his head up high so that I could pet him and I saw that his throat was cut open from ear-to-ear about a 16th of an inch and he has a hole at the end torn out and his cheek above that wound was very swollen and looked like it was full of fluid. I have no idea what could have caused this but I don't think it was any animal. He is missing most of his left ear and he has scars that start from his head all the way down to his tail. He had a lot of missing hair at the very end of his back by the tail that looked like mange but it is almost gone now. He was loaded with fleas too. I wish I could get antibiotics to speed up the healing but my vet will not prescribe without seeing him first which is impossible. Should I just keep doing what I'm doing or try to get an antibiotic online if so what kind and how many milligrams. Thank you I appreciate any help.

If you can't get this cat to the vet, then it would be better for him if Animal Control can take care of him.  It sounds like he's been mistreated and whoever did it should be brought to justice.

Even if you were able to get him to a vet, I would report this to the authorities.  No animal should suffer like this.

If there is one available, call a rescue.  If not, please call Animal Control.

I recognize AC may put him down but they need to be made aware of his treatment.

Thank you for helping him.  Poor dear.

He needs to get to a vet.  This is not something you should try to treat by purchasing medication online.  How have you tried to trap him?  I assume he may be getting into fights as he is an unneutered male.  He needs to be seen by a vet and neutered as well.

Have you ever tried to trap him?  Since he comes to you each day for food, he might easily go into a trap for you. 

Have-a-heart traps can sometimes be borrowed from vet's offices or animal control so you can safely trap him and get him to a vet. The poor thing must be in a lot of pain. I know of no way to get antibiotics without a prescription and giving medication without the supervision of a vet could do more harm than good. If finances are stopping you from taking him to the vet, perhaps you can look up a local rescue group to help him. Thank you so much for trying to help this poor boy. Good luck.

He must be in so much pain. If he won't go into a trap, you might try to catch him by throwing a small baby blanket or large towel over him, then scooping him headfirst into a pet carrier that is sitting nearby, upright with the door on top,  and then closing the door. It works better with two people, but if you're the only one able to get close to him, you'd have to do it yourself. Then take him to an emergency clinic, or just call the clinic you use and tell them you're bringing him in. They will charge you an extra fee, but I can't imagine them not seeing him.

If you're unable to grab him, you can put Fishmox into tuna fish to get antibiotics into him--it's Amoxicillin you can get without a prescription online because it's prescribed to treat fish. If you PM me your address, I can send you the pills and dosing instructions. This would only be a temporary fix, but better than nothing, because once infection sets in, he could die within days.  I have successfully treated feral cats with Fishmox when unable to find a vet willing to prescribe.

I hope that when you do catch him and get him veterinary treatment that you'll consider keeping him inside your home. People here will give you good instruction on how to socialize him when you need to cross that bridge. This poor guy deserves to know some peace and kindness in his life. Thanks for helping him.

Could have been a snare. An aunt and uncle of mine live relatively rurally and found a cat in a similar state. They caught him, took him to the vet and ended up with an absolute cuddle bug.

Try ringing round shelters to see if they can help with the trapping.